Seven persons have been booked for allegedly murdering a Dalit farmer and setting his body on fire in a village in Prayagraj district on Saturday, The Indian Express reported, quoting police officials on Monday.

The half-burnt body of the farmer, Devi Shankar, was found in an orchard at the Isota Lohagpur village of Karchhana tehsil in Prayagraj on Sunday morning.

A first information report was registered in the case on the complaint of Shankar’s father, Ashok Kumar, against seven upper-caste men. Six persons were detained for questioning but no arrests have been made so far, according to The Indian Express.

The police told the newspaper that Shankar, 35, was last seen when one of the accused, Dilip Singh, 28, came to his home and took him along to help him carry the load in the fields.

In his complaint, Kumar said that Singh had taken Shankar around 10.30 pm. “Around 5:30 am today, we were informed that my son had been set him on fire,” he added.

He alleged that the accused persons later returned to his home, hurled casteist abuses and threatened his family.